Need portable lathe for bowl turning outside

[tom coleman]

I want to buy my first and probably last lathe (age 78). I will start w pens
but want to make salad bowl sets as well. I would like to carry lathe outside
shop and attach it to heavy wood bench weighted down w sand bags. Max
bowl size will be 12 inch.

Will a 100 lb mini lathe w 1/2 or 3/4hp suffice? Will it easily attach to
homemade bench? Will carbide tool set suffice. Should I plan on buying 4 way chuck.
Your comments and suggestions much appreciated.

I may buy low end rikon on craigslist to test the waters but it probably will not
be adequate for bowl turning

[Thomas Canfield]

A 100 lb midi lathe with 12" swing can easily handle balanced wood up to 12" diameter and turn pens and smaller items. The problems start with material out of balance and minimum speed and need to securely fasten the lathe to a solid support. Wanting to buy a first and only lathe, I suggest that you consider a variable speed motor with reverse and 3/4 hp minimum and a tach is OK but not absolutely required. I had a Nova Comet II and liked it for a travel lathe due to its lighter weight, 12" swing, 3/4HP VS reverse, and 3 belt range. I did have to beef up the mounting to get it solid, but that was fairly easy. It had a short quill travel for drilling, but OK. I thought last year I would move up to the new Comet 14 and sold my Comet II, but found the Comet 14 lacking and returned it after a week of use but I signed agreement not to do a public review. I picked up Rikon 70-220VS and have found it to be a solid lathe with better power, longer quill travel, stronger banjo, longer bed, plus but it is heavier and I would be reluctant to move it without help. The Rikon has had some electronic problem that Rikon sent replacement parts for and I could change out controller box. I have a Powermatic 3520B but will often use the little Rikon for smaller items and am thinking that I will sell the Powermatic in future when I get all the big wood in shop down to 12" for midi ( could be 5 years or more) but time to start reducing shop in golden years. I know that a 12" lathe will do a lot more that what I will be doing later (now 78 also). I have mounted 4 different mini-midi lathes to a board that I could then fasten to a bench, workmate, or other support with clamps and found that to work OK.

[Reed Gray]

If you want to turn 12 inch bowls, then you need a 14 inch lathe. A 16 inch lathe would be better. Most of the newer lathes have wheel set ups so you can roll them around. You would have to fine tune the leveling feet for where you are putting it so it sits flat.

robo hippy